H12 A vase by Hamada Shoji.

I have been asked about the red seal on this box. This seal is known as the Mongama seal. ‘Mongama’ means ‘gate kiln’ in literal translation. There are a variety of reasons why this seal was used on some of the boxes. Sometimes, pots were made in larger numbers as a repeat form to special order…maybe as corporate gifts at a company convention or as wedding presents that the bride might give to her guests. These pots were sometimes made by one of the workers and then decorated by Hamada and sometimes Hamada made the pot in its entirety. Those pots that Hamada made or decorated he signed the box lid. Other Mongama boxes do not have his signature and were made by the workers at the pottery.